Diaphragm faceplate for railway cars



March 22, 1949. w. B. DEAN DIAPHRAGM FACEPLATE FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed Oct. 24, 1947 INVENTOR WaZZerliflean a BY A TTORNE Y Patented Mar. 22, 1949 DIAPHRAGM FACEPLATE FOR RAILWAY CARS Walter B. Dean, Narberth, Pa., assignor to The Budd Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application October 24, 1947, Serial No. 782,007

2 Claims.

The invention relates to railway cars, and more particularly to the diaphragm face plates movably mounted at the ends of such cars and connected by a flexible diaphragm to the adjacent car ends to form an enclosed passageway between coupled cars.

It is among the objects of the invention to simplify the construction of such a face plate and the buffer forming a part thereof, to lighten its overall weight, and to facilitate its fabrication and the attachment of the flexible diaphragm thereto.

To these ends the face plate, with the exception of the lower buffer member thereof, is fabricated of light-gauge sheet metal bent to box-section form andprovided with an edge flange spaced from the box-section main body thereof, through which flange the flexible diaphragm may be readily secured. The manner of attachment of the box-section side members to the heavier gauge metal buffer member is such as to facilitate fabrication, obtain a strong joint, and bring the outside flat face of the side and top members in the same plane as the outside fiat face of the buffer member, thereby furthering the above objects.

These and other and further objects and advantages and the manner in which they are attained will become fully evident from the following detailed description when read in connection with the drawings forming a part of this specification.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an end elevational view, with parts broken away, of a railway car showing the diaphragm face plate of the invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken substantially along the line 2-2 of Figures 1 and 3;

Figure 3 is a detail sectional plan taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view taken along the line i l of Figure 1.

In the drawings the invention is shown applied to a railway car, designated generally by numeral Ill, having an end wall ll including spaced posts I2 on opposite sides of a doorway opening l3 and an end sill M of the car underframe.

The diaphragm face plate of the invention comprises a generally rectangular frame, designated generally by the reference letter F, and is mounted from the car end wall for in-and-out and pivotal movement about the vertical central longitudinal plane of the car by a pair of cushioned side stems l5, l5 pivoted to the lower horizontal buffer member It by the Vertical pivot connection ll. At the top it is similarly urged outwardly by a coil spring if; having its ends seated in sockets l9 and 29 disposed, respectively, on the face plate and the car end wall l l.

Since the present invention is concerned primarily with the construction of the face plate to secure simplicity of manufacture, light weight, and convenience of assembly, this will now be described in detail.

The lower member of the face plate frame is the angular-section horizontal buffer member [6 having a vertical arm 2! and a horizontal arm 22. At each end of the buffer member there is strongly secured to it, as by welding, a vertical upwardly extending angular-section projection 23, the outer face of which is in vertical alignment with the outer face of the buffer arm 2|, see Figure 2.

The vertical side members 24 and the transverse top member 25 interconnecting the side members are fabricated of lighter gauge sheet metal as compared with the buffer member and are of box cross-section to increase their torsional strength and give them a high strength-weight ratio.

As clearly shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4, this box cross-section assumes a generally triangular form, one side of the box, as 26, extending longitudinally of the car, another wider side 21 extending transversely, and the third side 28 connecting the inner margin of the side 28 with an intermediate portion of the wide side 21, to which it is preferably secured by welding.

These box-section side members 24 are conveniently strongly secured to the buffer member by securing them together, as by welding, through the extensive overlap provided between the sides 26 and 21 of the box and the adjacent arms of the vertical extension 23. At the joint, as is clear from Figures 2 and 3, the box is left open for the height of the extension 23 with the sides 21 and 28 spaced apart so as to telescopically engage the opposite sides of the extension, and in this telescoping region the inclined side 28 is welded to the inner face of the extension instead of to the outer face 2'! of the box, as in other regions, To make the joint still more secure, the end margins of the sides 25 and 28 where they abut the horizontal arm 22 of the buffer member are securely welded thereto.

To bring the outer face of the buffer member in the plane of the outer face of the side 21 of the box-section side and top members, a wear plate 23 of the thickness of the metal of the box is welded to the outer face of the vertical arm 2| of the buffer.

To provide for the ready securement of the flexible diaphragm, as 30, extending around the sides and top of the diaphragm face plate and closing the space between. it and the car end wall, the outer side wall 21 of the side and top memhers is formed with a flange 3| by reversely bending it, this flange being spaced from the body of the box-section members to permit, ready access thereto for fastening the outer margin of the dia.- phragm to the flange. The inner margin of the diaphragm is, as usual, securedto flanges, as 32 and 33, on the car end wall. This arrangement of box-section members and diaphragm avoids the wearing of the diaphragm by avoiding: engagement with sharp corners on the frame members of the face plate.

The spring socket l9= may be readily formed by a flat .plate 34 arranged adjacent the outer face of the peaked top member 25 and a curved plate 35 welded thereto and both plates welded to the top member, as is clear from Figures 1 and 4.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been described in detail, it will be understood that changes and modifications would occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the main features of the invention, and such changes and modifications are intended to be covered by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1'. A diaphragm face plate for railway car ends comprising a frame extending around a central passageway leading from an end doorway of a car and including a bottom horizontal buffer member of angular section having an upper generally horizontally extending arm and an outer substantially vertically extending arm and laterally spaced upward extensions projecting some distance above the upper horizontal arm of said member, side members secured to the opposite sides of said buffer member and a top member interconnecting the tops of said side members, characterized by thefact that said side and top members are formed of sheet metal of lighter auge than said buffer member and bent to form 'a closed box section providing rounded edges at the outer and inner sides thereof adjacent said passageway, at least the outer side of said box section overlapping the adjacent upward extension of the buffer member and being secured thereto in the overlap, said outer side being laterally extended and having its margin formed to provide a flange spaced from the box section and serving as an attaching flange for a flexible diaphragm closing the space between the side and top members and an adjacent end wall of the car;

2. A diaphragm face plate for railway car ends comprising a frame extending around a central passageway leading from .an end doorway of a car and including a bottom horizontal bufler member of angular section having an upper generally horizontally extending arm and an outer generally vertically extending arm and lateral- 1y" spaced upward extensions projecting some distance above the upper horizontal arm of said member; side members secured to the opposite sides of each buffer and a top member interconnecting the tops of said side members, characterized by the fact that said side and top membars are formed of sheet metaloi lighter gauge than said buffer member and bent to form a closed substantially triangular form box cross section, said 'box cross section having one side thereof extending transversely of the car and overlapping and secured to. the adjacent. upward extension of the buffer member, said side merging at its. margin adjacent the passageway into a second. side extending longitudinally inwardly of the car, saidsecond side merging into a third side extending toward the first side and secured thereto and to said upward extension tcv complete the triangle, the first-named side of said b-ox' section being extended. laterallybeyond the box and integrally formed with a reversely bent marginal. portion forming a diaphragm attaching. flange disposed. in spaced relation to the box cross section.

WALTER B. DEAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1 *,92'31441' Kasset a]; Aug. 22, 1933 1,928,602 Mussey' et al Sept. 26, 1933 2,3091073- Dean Jan. 19, 1943 2,3*-3T,081' Bloomberg Dec. 21, 1943 2,355,260 Pihl et a1. Aug. 8, 1944 2,408,473 Nelson Oct. 1, I946 

